


When Dreaming Ends

by MsFaust



Series: Inky Tales [68]
Category: Bendy and the Ink Machine, The Sandman (Comics)
Genre: Ascension, Endless, Gen, Not many tags because there'd be spoilers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-25
Updated: 2017-12-25
Packaged: 2019-02-20 11:06:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 685
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13145364
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MsFaust/pseuds/MsFaust
Summary: "Why live life from dream to dream...And dread the day when dreaming ends?"Contains references to the graphic novelsPreludes and NocturnesandThe Wake





	When Dreaming Ends

"So, we meet again at last, old friend."

"You lost the right to call me your friend a long time ago, Joey," growled Henry. "After all you've done, any chance you had of renewing our friendship is gone. Forever."

"Come now, Henry," Joey said, wagging a finger. "Surely you must have seen what I've created. Surely you understand now just how much power there is in belief and dreams."

"Oh, I understand that, all right," the animator replied. "But that power was never meant to be yours to wield. I have seen so much in the past thirty years, and I am ready to claim my destined place."

"What do you mean?"

"There's a reason that out of all those you sent letters to, I alone came back to this place," Henry said, his eyes beginning to glow with white light. "It's because this was a place of dreams, not unlike the house that Walt, Ub, and their colleagues built. But you turned it into a place of nightmares, creating twisted parodies of those who worked for you and the characters they created, all in order to achieve your own selfish goals."

As he spoke, his form seemed to grow larger, color fading from his body and clothes changing into a long white robe. Watching from nearby, the three Toons sensed that their Creator was no longer a mere mortal, that a vast, ancient power now dwelled with him, making him--well, not a god, but something very similar.

"Do you recall the band of enchanters to which you once belonged? The ones who sought to ensnare Death?"

Joey's eyes went wide. "How-how do you know about that?"

"The same way I know you tampered with the ritual so that her brother Dream would be trapped instead. The same way I know you stole energy from him, and then hid yourself away in this pocket realm you created to avoid detection. The same way I know that he is now gone."

Without warning, the ink puddle under Joey's feet rose up, transforming into chains which wrapped themselves around his wrists and ankles.

"When Morpheus allowed his sister to claim him, he chose a successor--a new Dream of the Endless. For some reason I still do not understand, he chose me."

Henry gestured, and with a sudden jerk, the chains pulled Joey back pinning him against the wall. The animator approached his former friend, a look of disappointment mixed with scorn crossing his face as he continued.

"I'm not sure why my predecessor didn't try to reclaim the power you stole from him. Maybe it was because he had other things to attend to, or because the portion you took was too small to cause him any real inconvenience. But I don't think he'd appreciate it being abused in this way."

Holding out a hand, he closed his eyes, drawing forth the stolen power from Joey's body. Joey whimpered quietly, knowing there was nothing he could do now.

At the same time, multiple figures emerged from the small ink pools around the room. The Prophet, the Projectionist, even the woman who believed herself to be Alice Angel--they were all there. But they were only in their corrupted states for a moment, before they slowly transformed into more human-looking beings. They were not the employees upon whom they had been based, but that was of little issue to them.

"Part of me feels that the world would be better off if I were to rid it of you," Henry said. "But part of me still remembers how we used to be friends. Therefore, your punishment will not be death. Not immediately, anyway."

He waved a hand around the room. "This place you created will not last without the stolen power to maintain it. Eventually, it will fade away into nothing. Until then, you will remain here, alone. Only when this false dreamland fades will you enter the Morningstar's creation."

With that, he turned to the others. "Come. Let's go home."

And so they did, departing one by one into Dream's domain, leaving Joey Drew alone.


End file.
